View a liveblog of the game.

A neat row of black socks and bright purple basketball shoes tap on the wooden floor of the gym as players sit on the bench, hunched over, watching the game. The girls basketball team wears bright white and gold jerseys and shorts, but not every player has their uniform on. Junior Alyssa O’Neill sports a sort of uniform of her own — a purple hoodie replaces her white top, white Vans replace her purple shoes and a black ankle brace replaces the team’s black Nike socks. O’Neill is injured and has been for four weeks, but if the purple horn she carries is any indication, she will remain a loud part of the team until she rejoins them on the court on Feb. 2.

Girls basketball faced the Milpitas Trojans on Jan 21., and despite losing several players like O’Neill to illness or injury, the game was up in the air until the final seconds. However, the Matadors were unable to tip the score in their favor and lost 50-48.

Before the game, the team noted that there was an MHS player known for shooting 3-pointers. Though they were not sure who she was, they knew that 3-pointers were an MHS strength. They were right.

The Matadors dominated the first half, with freshman Joyce Chen scoring the first two points of the game in the first five seconds. MVHS kept their lead, which eventually widened to nine points, for most of the first two quarters. Right before halftime, MHS’ 3-pointers began rolling in and the first half ended with the Matadors down 25-27.

Though last year there were several players who shot 3-pointers, this year the responsibility falls mostly on captains seniors Christina Jennings and Kaisa Rautiainen. However, Rautiainen, along with O’Neill and junior Kirthi Gomatam was unable to play in the game, a reason the Matadors cited for their inability to catch up.

“[Rautiainen] is the tallest on the team, so she gets our rebounds,” team manager junior Ally Malone said. “She’s also our top scorer on most games, so a lot of our points come from her.”

Though Rautiainen missed the game because she was sick, O’Neill and Gomatam watched with their team, Gomatam on the ground with crutches and O’Neill on the bench.

In the previous week’s game, O’Neill was chastised for cheering too aggressively with her horn while senior Hannah Pollek was taking free throws.

“I yelled, ‘Get those apples in the fruit basket, Hannah,’” O’Neill said. “Then the refs had a little meeting and they went over to [coach Sara] Borelli and they said, ‘She can’t use the horn. It’s illegal.’ And then I threw it over my shoulder. It took them with a minute left in the third quarter to tell me I wasn’t allowed to use it. I can yell just as loud without the horn.”

“She just kept on screaming,” Malone said.

“They can’t shut me down,” O’Neill said.

As the second half began, MHS scored six straight points and kept their momentum, despite strong defense from Pollek. The third quarter ended 41-27.

In the final quarter, the Matadors steadily shrunk the 14 point gap by improving their offensive play. With a minute remaining in the game, MVHS was down 46-40. Jennings made a free throw. 46-41. Junior Julie Chen got a jump shot. 46-43. MHS sunk two free throws and Pollek put in a 3-pointer. 48-46. With sixteen seconds left in the game, MHS shot another free throw and sophomore Shivalika Chavan made a jump shot. 49-48. With three seconds remaining, MHS took two free throws. They missed the first one. MVHS parents sighed with relief. They made the second. Parents groaned. The buzzer rang and the game was over. 50-48.

 Photos by Justin Kim

Girls basketball’s next home game is on Feb. 4 at 7:00 p.m.